The Jewish Ethicist: Gilt Guilt

Is wealth a curse?

Q. I work at an interesting job that pays a fantastic salary. I guess I should be grateful, but really I feel guilty for getting paid so much when others are suffering from poverty. Is it wrong to enjoy wealth while others are impoverished?

A. I'm sure many readers would like to experience your particular sorrow, but the fact remains that this is a profound question.

The basic approach of Judaism to wealth is that it is a positive thing which we should enjoy and be grateful for, as long as two conditions are filled:

We must use our wealth in a responsible fashion;

We must always remember that our wealth is not a reflection of our inner worth, but rather is a deposit given to us by the Creator.

Certainly someone blessed with material resources is permitted and encouraged to enjoy them. Judaism doesn't encourage asceticism. Indeed, one of the most prominent features of our religion is the blessings we make on all kinds of material enjoyments, including food, drink, fragrances and so on. By taking the time to praise the Creator for these enjoyments, we augment our appreciation of them, and at the same time elevate them from being a purely bodily enjoyment to being
a spiritual experience as well.

But enjoyment is maximized when it is moderated. So there should still be plenty of resources left for giving charity. According to Jewish tradition, a person of means should strive to give twenty percent of his or her income
to charity each year. The most prominent recipients are generally the needy and Torah education; at the same time, other worthy causes need not be neglected.

You write that many people "suffer from poverty", but it is also true that many impoverished people are very happy and don't suffer at all. And certainly there are many individuals who suffer from wealth. It is a foundational belief in Judaism that wealth and poverty each have their own challenges. In the book of Proverbs, we find a prayer to be given neither poverty nor riches, "Lest I become sated and deny, saying, 'Who is God?';
or lest I become impoverished and steal, thus profaning the name of My God." (Proverbs 30:7-9.)

The problem is that when a person has a surfeit of material enjoyments, it requires more effort for him or her to remain acutely aware of the guiding hand of God's providence in providing them. Those who have the good fortune
to be well off should be particularly careful to be cheerful and grateful to the Creator for their enjoyments and status. We can illustrate this with an example from the Talmud.

The Talmud tells of two Torah scholars who possessed legendary wealth. One was Rabbi Eliezer ben Charsom, who inherited from his father a thousand cities and a thousand trading ships! Yet in order to keep the management of his estate from distracting him from Torah study, he used to wander anonymously from place to place carrying a sack of flour, subsisting on a
little bread and devoting himself to study.

The other was Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the governor of the Jewish people, redactor of the Mishna and one of the most renowned Jewish sages of all time. It was said that his possessions were so great that the mere manure from his horses made his stable-keeper wealthier than the king of Persia.

In contrast to the modest sustenance of Rabbi Eliezer ben Charsom, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi did not live an ascetic life. On the contrary, he lived in such high fashion that the leading Roman nobles and generals were in awe of
his wealth and status. Yet of all of our saints and sages, it was
specifically Rabbi Yehuda who was able to swear on his deathbed, "Master of the Universe, it is well known to you that I used my ten fingers to exert myself in the Torah, and I didn't enjoy even with my little finger."

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was at such a high spiritual level that despite his extravagant lifestyle he could testify that during his entire lifetime nothing was consumed for his own enjoyment. Everything was for the glory and honor of the Jewish people and in order to have a greater appreciation
of the creation.

Each of us, whether wealthy or poor, is called upon to serve the Creator from our particular situation. A wealthy person runs a greater risk of forgetting God's role in providence, but also has a greater opportunity to use resources to help others and to expand his or her appreciation of God's
loving kindness.

[NOTE: It goes without saying that wealthy people should be particularly strict about business ethics. A poorer person may pretend to have an excuse due to his or her strained situation, but obviously this is irrelevant to a
person of extensive resources.]

Important clarification regarding last week's column:
Last week's column "Trip Trap" refers only to a per-day travel allowance paid as an addition to salary, where the employer does not request any kind of accounting or receipts. It goes without saying that if company policy is that any unspent money needs to be returned, all employees are morally and legally bound to uphold the policy.

The main point of the column was not that the excess can be pocketed, which of course depends on company policy. The point was that in all cases the per diem needs to be used to the full extent necessary to make the employee fit for work.

The Jewish Ethicist presents some general principles of Jewish law. For specific questions and direct application, please consult a qualified Rabbi.

The Jewish Ethicist is a joint project of Aish.com and the Center for Business Ethics, Jerusalem College of Technology. To find out more about business ethics and Jewish values for the workplace, visit the JCT Center for Business Ethics website at www.besr.org.

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About the Author

Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir is Research Director at the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem (www.besr.org). He studied at Harvard, received a PhD in Economics from MIT, and rabbinic ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. Prior to moving to Israel, he worked at the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan administration. Rabbi Dr. Meir is also a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Jerusalem College of Technology and has published several articles on business, economics and Jewish law. He is the author of the two-volume, "Meaning in Mitzvot (Feldheim), and his Aish.com columns form the basis of the "Jewish Ethicist" book (ktav.com).

I live in rural Montana where the Cholov Yisrael milk is difficult to obtain and very expensive. So I drink regular milk. What is your view on this?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Jewish law requires that there be rabbinic supervision during the milking process to ensure that the milk comes from a kosher animal. In the United States, many people rely on the Department of Agriculture's regulations and controls as sufficiently stringent to fulfill the rabbinic requirement for supervision.

Most of the major Kashrut organizations in the United States rely on this as well. You will therefore find many kosher products in America certified with a 'D' next to the kosher symbol. Such products – unless otherwise specified on the label – are not Cholov Yisrael and are assumed kosher based on the DOA's guarantee.

There are many, however, do not rely on this, and will eat only dairy products that are designated as Cholov Yisrael (literally, "Jewish milk"). This is particularly true in large Jewish communities, where Cholov Yisrael is widely available.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that under limited conditions, such as an institution which consumes a lot of milk and Cholov Yisrael is generally unavailable or especially expensive, American milk is acceptable, as the government supervision is adequate to prevent non-kosher ingredients from being added.

It should be added that the above only applies to milk itself, which is marketed as pure cow's milk. All other dairy products, such as cheeses and butter, may contain non-kosher ingredients and always require kosher certification. In addition, Rabbi Feinstein's ruling applies only in the United States, where government regulations are considered reliable. In other parts of the world, including Europe, Cholov Yisrael is a requirement.

There are additional esoteric reasons for being stringent regarding Cholov Yisrael, and because of this it is generally advisable to consume only Cholov Yisroel dairy foods.

In 1889, 800 Jews arrived in Buenos Aires, marking the birth of the modern Jewish community in Argentina. These immigrants were fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia, and moved to Argentina because of its open door policy of immigration. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina. Juan Peron's rise to power in 1946 was an ominous sign, as he was a Nazi sympathizer with fascist leanings. Peron halted Jewish immigration to Argentina, introduced mandatory Catholic religious instruction in public schools, and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. (In 1960, Israeli agents abducted Adolf Eichmann from a Buenos Aires suburb.) Today, Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America with 250,000, though terror attacks have prompted many young people to emigrate. In 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 32 people. In 1994, the Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 85 people. The perpetrators have never been apprehended.

Be aware of what situations and behaviors give you pleasure. When you feel excessively sad and cannot change your attitude, make a conscious effort to take some action that might alleviate your sadness.

If you anticipate feeling sad, prepare a list of things that might make you feel better. It could be talking to a specific enthusiastic individual, running, taking a walk in a quiet area, looking at pictures of family, listening to music, or reading inspiring words.

While our attitude is a major factor in sadness, lack of positive external situations and events play an important role in how we feel.

[If a criminal has been executed by hanging] his body may not remain suspended overnight ... because it is an insult to God (Deuteronomy 21:23).

Rashi explains that since man was created in the image of God, anything that disparages man is disparaging God as well.

Chilul Hashem, bringing disgrace to the Divine Name, is one of the greatest sins in the Torah. The opposite of chilul Hashem is kiddush Hashem, sanctifying the Divine Name. While this topic has several dimensions to it, there is a living kiddush Hashem which occurs when a Jew behaves in a manner that merits the respect and admiration of other people, who thereby respect the Torah of Israel.

What is chilul Hashem? One Talmudic author stated, "It is when I buy meat from the butcher and delay paying him" (Yoma 86a). To cause someone to say that a Torah scholar is anything less than scrupulous in meeting his obligations is to cause people to lose respect for the Torah.

Suppose someone offers us a business deal of questionable legality. Is the personal gain worth the possible dishonor that we bring not only upon ourselves, but on our nation? If our personal reputation is ours to handle in whatever way we please, shouldn't we handle the reputation of our nation and the God we represent with maximum care?

Jews have given so much, even their lives, for kiddush Hashem. Can we not forego a few dollars to avoid chilul Hashem?

Today I shall...

be scrupulous in all my transactions and relationships to avoid the possibility of bringing dishonor to my God and people.

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